- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Dell; First THUS edition (Dec 17 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0440241073
- ISBN-13: 978-0440241072
- Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 2.6 x 17.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 23 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (682 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #101,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Law professor Ray Atlee and his prodigal brother, Forrest, are summoned home to Clanton, Mississippi, by their ailing father to discuss his will. But when Ray arrives the judge is already dead, and the one-page document dividing his meager estate between the two sons seems crystal clear. What it doesn't mention, however, is the small fortune in cash Ray discovers hidden in the old man's house--$3 million he can't account for and doesn't mention to brother Forrest, either.
Ray's efforts to keep his find a secret, figure out where it came from, and hide it from a nameless extortioner, who seems to know more about it than he does, culminate in a denouement with an almost biblical twist. It's a slender plot to hang a thriller on, and in truth it's not John Grisham's best in terms of pacing, dramatic tension, and interesting characters (except for Harry Rex, a country lawyer who was the judge's closest friend and in many ways is the father Ray wishes he'd had. He's so vivid he jumps off the page). But Grisham's legions of fans are likely to enjoy The Summons even if it lacks the power of some of his classic earlier books, like The Firm, The Brethren, and The Testament. --Jane Adams --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Beck offers a fine performance in this no-frills production of Grisham's latest, despite its lack of overall narrative zip. University of Virginia law professor Ray Atlee stumbles upon more than $3 million in cash in the rural Mississippi house of his dead father, then tries to discover the source of the money and elude an increasingly persistent and menacing extortionist. Beck is a dynamic reader and excels at tackling the challenge of capturing the characters' Southern twang in the story's dialogue. Ray's voice is refined and authoritative, while that of his black sheep brother, Forrest, carries a slight crack that befits a person lacking in confidence and maturity. Family friend and local lawyer Harry Rex stands out the most, and Beck also deftly portrays a smarmy, boozing Delta attorney who calls himself the "King of the Torts." But even with these intriguing, well-rounded characters and a nice evocation of the legal system's more unsavory machinations, the plot won't move listeners to the edge of their seats. Beck, however, does well with what he has, which is a decently written but rather sluggish tale of suspense with a quirky cast and one good twist at the end. Simultaneous release with the Doubleday hardcover
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Law School Hypothetical Problem Turned into a Slow-Moving Novel,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 112,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: The Summons (Mass Market Paperback)
One of the problems of being a lawyer is that you can start to think like one all too much of the time. For those who are most fascinated by the law, the favorite intellectual game is to pose ever more complex scenarios to test what is the right solution. John Grisham clearly thought he was writing a law school hypothetical problem when he penned this novel . . . which will leave those who aren't lawyers puzzled, troubled, and disgruntled.From a legal and personal perspective, this book raises some nice ethical questions: 1. What is the obligation to protect the reputation and memory of a deceased person? 2. How should an addict be protected from hurting himself? 3. How far should potentially illegal activities be pursued by an attorney who is an executor of an estate? 4. How should protecting property be weighed against protecting life? 5. Can you overcome the temptation to run off with something that no one knows you have found? Attorney and law professor Ray Atlee is faced with all of those issues and more when he returns home to find his father dead and the living room filled with stationery boxes bursting with cash. First, he wants to know if the cash is counterfeit or part of some illegal activity. Second, he is concerned that his brother not go on a long cocaine-sniffing holiday from which he might not survive. Third, he's afraid someone will walk off with the money. Fourth, he begins to think how nice it would be to avoid paying taxes on the money. Fifth, he dreams about having it all to himself. But life isn't that simple. Someone else seems to know about the money, and they are getting aggressive about retrieving it. What will Ray do? There's supposed to be a mystery here, but parts of it are pretty transparent. What isn't transparent eventually turns out to be far-fetched. Except for tickling my memories of property class hypotheticals, I didn't find much to recommend this book. If you do decide to read it, I suggest that you listen instead to the Recorded Books reading by Michael Beck who makes a lot of the silliness sound more interesting.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not for most Grisham fans.,
By
This review is from: The Summons (Mass Market Paperback)
The Summons differs from the bulk of Grisham's body of work in that it relies heavily on suspense and contains very little action. I enjoyed reading this book the lead character was compelling and the story held my interest throughout.This is a psychological drama where the bulk of suspense occurs in the imagination of the lead character. I can understand why a Grisham fan would not enjoy this book. It doesn't fit his typical mold. However if you enjoy a good suspense that gets you thinking you may find enjoyment in this book. I did.
1.0 out of 5 stars
What's happened to Grisham?,
By Wayne Price (Dallas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Summons (Hardcover)
I've loved this author's earlier books, but is he turning out to be like so many who turn out a good novel or two, then, in order to keep the$ coming in, churns out new ones even when they're not worth reading? In earlier novels I have always admired a certain, admittedly far-fetched, logic to the unravelling of the story. Don't look for that in this one. We begin to understand why the protagonist's wife decided to leave him abruptly sometime in the past. His actions are so unreasonable as to stretch credulence. As others have said, it IS a page-turner, and the faster the pages turn, the better. The rather predictable "surprise" ending just dribbles away to a conclusion, with nothing there. In short, check this book out of the library if you've got to have something to read for a summer trip, but don't expect much.
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